Hey

By the time they reached their resting spot at the edge of town, Daisy’s head was spinning. The veiled community known as Afterlife buzzed with activity behind them but it was still less surreal than her mother’s presence by her side. She had spent most of the morning showing her around the community, introducing her to its many residents and the culture that was all at once completely foreign yet reassuringly familiar to her.

‘Where has your mind gone, little flower?’

Jai-Ying’s gentle prodding pulled her back into the present as they sat on the hillside, and Daisy relaxed into the presence of her mother’s waiting smile. Her impossibly youthful features did not encroach on the air of grace and authority Jai-Ying radiated, and as Daisy watched the almost fearful reverence the community bestowed upon her mother, she too found herself somewhat in awe.

‘You’ve been a lot more productive than me in the past 20 years – you’ve built a whole community here, it’s beautiful’.

Jai-Ying answered with a gentle shake of her head, ‘Not just a community, a sanctuary – and do not sell yourself so short little flower, these past years have seen you grow into a strong, beautiful young woman. Although you were far away, you have blossomed just like all the others here, to spite S.H.I.E.L.D’s best efforts.’

The mention of S.H.I.E.L.D sobered the mood, and hung heavily in the air between them.

‘I’m sure during your time with the agency, you weren’t made familiar with the reason our people needed a sanctuary, or at very least not the truth of it.’

Swallowing thickly, Daisy shook her head, and Jai-Ying continued; her features twisting in sorrow.

‘Our kind had always had an uneasy peace with the likes of S.H.I.E.L.D, we kept to ourselves as much as we could, but every now and then there would be accidents – incidents – and the agency was a welcome ally at times, they shielded our people from exposure to a world that was, and still is, none too kind to those who are different. But something changed. More and more S.H.I.E.L.D began to interfere in our people’s affairs – people were taken from the streets, from their homes – simply for possessing an ability they viewed as a threat. We turned to each other in those times, became more and more isolated from the regular world – it was always our kind who made the sacrifices – we hid ourselves away but it was never far enough. I came to understand unfortunately too late that as long as we shared the same earth, S.H.I.E.L.D would always consider us too close, too dangerous. In the end, they came for our children’.

Jai-Ying’s voice was thick with grief, and Daisy saw the shimmer of tears on her cheeks but when she met her gaze, it was rage that filled her eyes.

‘A small community of gifted had settled in Bahrain. There was some unrest in the country at the time, and their presence went largely unnoticed. But they were still paying the price set by SHIELD for their existence. There was a young woman, Eva Belyakov, her daughter Katya had fallen ill – and they were so isolated, she felt she had nowhere else to turn – and in an attempt to spare her daughter’s life, she exposed her to the Terrigen Mists.’

Daisy’s mind was reeling, ‘Bahrain – Eva and Katya, I’ve heard those name’. Well, seen them really, in files so heavily redacted she had abandoned them.

Jai-Ying nodded her head solemnly, continuing on, oblivious to the emotional tremors Daisy was struggling to supress.

‘I’m glad their names are at least known… The people hid them the best they could, bargained with the local government for protection. First they sent agents, asking questions, taking pictures – and when they didn’t get what they wanted more agents came, and more. And then we got word; the Cavalry was coming. They tried to surrender the child – her mother was willing to part with her just so Katya might live, have some sort of life – but the woman couldn’t be stopped. When she first came upon the group, they had barricaded themselves into an empty room – she claimed she was there to rescue them – but when she realized who Katya was, she put a bullet in her temple’.

Daisy couldn’t stop the sob that ripped its way from her throat.

‘I’m so sorry Daisy, shush, shush, come here’, her mother drew her into a warm embrace that Daisy desperately wanted to fight, guilt crawling under her skin.

‘Her name is Melinda May – we worked together, she was my – Mom, I’m so sorry’.

To spite her shame, Daisy found nothing but acceptance and understanding when she met Jai-Ying’s gaze.

‘Little flower, I didn’t tell you this to make you cry – but I can’t protect you from a danger you didn’t know exists. And I can’t compete with your loyalty to a woman who is no more than a charade.’ Daisy started to protest. ‘I know you cared for her – she would have done everything necessary to ensure you did, to gain your trust – but I couldn’t risk her outgrowing her use for you, whatever that may be. She has brought so much death, so much pain to our people – I won’t let you be another name on that list.’

Daisy tried to absorb the comfort she knew Jai-Ying was trying to give her. Her words had struck a chord, shed a knew light on May’s recent behaviour – how close had she been to ‘outgrowing her usefulness’ – would she have met the same fate as Dr Gardner, who she had also outgrown?

Jai-Ying wiped the tears gently from Daisy’s face, and directed her gaze across the valley, where the sun was beginning to slide behind the stone monument atop the opposing hillside from where they sat.

‘Do you see the stone temple? One of the few people who escaped the massacre in Bahrain was an elder, named Serena, possibly the last of what our people called ‘Seekers’. She had the unique ability to sense the ancient sources of our power – temple’s left behind by the ancient ones – it’s power is our source of protection here in Afterlife. The stories say that every life lost amongst our kind is drawn by the temple’s, that their loss is resown as strength in their power – I believe that is how Afterlife came to be – we paid such a heavy price, but what was lost that day continues to aid in our protection, even now.

The faint crack from behind them signalled Gordon’s arrival, and Daisy hastily wiped at her eyes as Jai-Ying helped her to her feet.

‘My apologies Gordon, time is so easily lost in the past’.

‘I hate to disturb you – Daisy, I hope you managed to settle in okay last night - Kenna has prepared some more comfortable quarters for you, you’re about her size too and she has a change of clothes laid out for you, if you’d like to wash up before dinner’.

Jai-Ying fixed her with a broad smile, ‘I hope you don’t mind – I was regrettably unprepared for your arrival yesterday – Gordon has assisted in preparing a more appropriate celebration for this evening. If you can forgive me, I believe we just have a few matters to attend to first?’

‘Of course!’ Daisy was hit by another pang of guilt – she had arrived unannounced and subsequently commandeered most of Jai-Ying’s attention. To her surprise, Jai-Ying linked her arm through hers and set off back towards the small village.

‘I shall meet you there Gordon, the walk is short and I find myself unwillingly to leave my daughters side just yet.’

Gordon disappeared into the air without another word, and Daisy tried her best to leave all thoughts of S.H.I.E.L.D on the hillside behind them.

‘We’ll have to think of something to tell Helena – he wasn’t injured, save the knock to the head – the bullet wound was barely a graze. His ability makes him heal fast, he’s been asking to leave the infirmary since this morning’.

‘There are many unknown things that could jeopardize our new guests speedy recovery – the others may not question but I want any and all talk silenced, and kept as far from Daisy’s ears as possible. She has been receptive so far – but I fear to test her allegiances so soon’.

‘Understood’.

Gordon left as quickly and quietly as he had come, and Jai-Ying made her way into the infirmary, happy to see Helena and the other carers had followed her orders to take an early night.

‘Dr Gardner – I see you’ve recovered well’.

The dark-skinned man startled at her near silent approach, making to rise from his bed before she waved him away.

‘Please, don’t get up on my account – Helena would never forgive me - you still need your rest’.

‘You’re too kind – and your hospitality has been humbling– although I fear it is undeserved.’

Jai-Ying almost admired his bravery for broaching the topic – his recent exploits had taken their toll but she had long since made peace with the price his proximity to S.H.I.E.L.D provided. The smile she offered him was genuine as she came to his bedside, clasping his hand in hers, only slightly too firmly.

‘Nonsense Doctor – no life is wasted in Afterlife’.

Jai-Ying savoured the look of shock that froze on his face before closing her eyes, and revelling in the rush his draining life source provided her.

Elena resisted the urge to run, to spite being in no hurry to get anywhere fast at the moment. S.H.I.E.L.D could be a head spin at the best of times but the past several days had been downright dizzying.

As she turned down the unfamiliar hallway leading to the executive quarters, Yo-Yo had to wonder if May had been somehow instrumental in the base’s layout; the quiet corridors leading to her bunk contained several utility areas that seemed to be conveniently not in use. She made a mental note to zoom down this way the next time she was in need of a private shower – maybe if Mack was done playing Director he’d join her.

Stopping at what she thought was the right room, Yo-Yo knocked lightly, and while she was unsurprised to not get an answer, she was surprised to find the door unlocked.

‘May?’

The most basic part of the recent head spinning events included not knowing whether to categorize the catalyst of the past 72 hours as ‘they day Daisy left’ or ‘the day May got injured’. It would be almost uncommon not to see May sporting some form of injury but this seemed different – if not solely by the mysterious circumstances surrounding her being injured, then definitely by the tension it seemed to have sparked amongst the team. Yo-yo was privy to the little known fact that May had recently begun sleeping a little further down the hall, in Coulson’s suite, rather than her own. But still, the man’s current distress over her welfare was unnerving in its intensity. She was suddenly grateful that it was her that had stumbled across the scene before her, rather than their tightly wound Director.

When she agreed to move May to her private quarters, rather than keeping her in the Med Bay, Jemma had crammed an ungodly amount of equipment into the relatively small room, which had been promptly unplugged and shoved into a corner the very first night. It seemed May was a terrible patient regardless of what bed she was in. The drip that remained by her bedside was now disconnected, its intended recipient nowhere to be found.

The room was a mess, and Yo-yo had a sinking feeling its occupant would be in no better condition. The narrow bed was unmade, and upon closer inspection, Elena found the sheets had been stripped, although a large damp stain, spotted with dark spots of blood remained. Pausing as she headed back into the hallway, Elena turned up the thermostat – damn A/C was on as high as it could go, even with her somewhat warmer disposition, she could feel the chill in the air.

May hadn’t made it far from her abandoned sick bed.

‘May? Mami, you should be in bed – where are you trying to – ‘

Yo-yo had been hesitant to touch the older agent as she approached her but had to zoom forward to catch her as she sagged against the wall she had been holding for support.

‘Whoa, see, let’s get you back – oh – okay, we’re going down, that’s okay….’

Yo-yo was stunned for a moment as May continued to sink to the floor after she reached out to steady her. She now found herself sliding awkward to the floor beside her, trying to ease her decent.

Although her small frame was light, a heavy heat radiated from May’s body, and as she leaned against her chest, Elena could feel the exact point the injured agents lungs expanded against her cracked ribs and choked off her breathes into short, raspy gasps.

‘I’m going to get Coulson, okay? I’ll be right –‘

May’s clammy hand clamped around her wrist, stopping Yo-yo short as she attempted to disentangle herself from her. May shook her head furiously, drawing a stuttering breathes before rasping out;

‘No – Coulson.’

Elena grimaced as she noted the dark bruising on the woman’s throat, just visible above her robe against her stark pale skin – she didn’t know who the target of her recent Op had been, but choking was personal – at least the kind severe enough to leave marks like that.

‘Okay – no Coulson – what was so important it was worth passing out in the hallway over?’

May didn’t answer immediately, but Yo-yo didn’t miss the way her fists tightened around the soiled sheets she had bundled under her arm. Figuring the least she could do was humour her injured friend, Yo-yo stood and offered May her hand,

‘I don’t which way you were headed, so your going to have to help me out’.

‘Next corner - first on the right side’.

May gripped her hand tightly and struggled to get her wounded leg back under her, and eventually allowed her to loop an arm around her waist and lift her back to her feet. Yo-yo kept her grip as loose as she could as she helped her through the hallway, noting how the woman flinched away from the contact when her hand grazed her hip.

The room May had directed them to was more like a domestic laundry, compared to the industrial space used for the agent’s and their field gear. Off to the side was a small wet area, and after she deposited her sheets, Elena helped May into the open shower.

Hesitant to let go at all, Elena hovered closely as May leaned heavily against the shower wall. Taking her in fully for the first time, Elena started to share a little of Coulson’s frantic concern. Her tiny frame was dwarfed by a heavy charcoal robe she assumed was Coulson’s and the dark material only highlighted her deathly pallor. Her features were twisted into a tight grimace as she kept her eyes screwed shut, nostrils flaring as she tried to draw steadying breaths.

Reaching out, Yo-yo lifted one of the woman’s arms over her shoulder;

‘I need you to lean forward a bit so I can get this robe off, just hold onto me and keep breathing, okay?’

May leaned forward at her encouragement but her hand shot from her side to stop her when she reached for the sash of her robe, her breath hitching sharply.

‘You can’t shower with your clothes on chica, if you don’t want Jemma or Coulson, you’re going to have to let me help you here’.

Yo-yo’s heart sunk as May shook her head and tears began escaping from her clenched eyelids. She gave her a minute, but when the older woman did not release her grip, Elena began easing the sweat soaked robe off her shoulders, stifling her own emotions as a quiet sobbed ripped its way from her friends throat. Yo-yo was finally beginning to understand why there was no mission report available from May’s recent encounter. She remembered her cousin coming home one night to the apartment they shared, silent and stumbling even though she wasn’t drunk. She remembered her washing load after load of soiled sheets until the pain had subsided enough for her to pee by herself.

Silently reaching above them, Yo-yo turned on the water, letting the cool spray soak her clothing as she waited for May’s breathing to even out. As the steam started to rise around them, May nudged at her hand and carefully shrugged out of her now sodden robe, letting it fall heavily to the ground. Yo-yo’s eyes followed the trail of bruised and bandage skin down May’s petite form, watching as the dried blood began washing down her legs and into the drain. The apparent bullet wound May was reported to have in her stomach was heavily bandaged but still showed three distinct bloody lines across the front. May’s eyes had been fixed on the water spiralling down the drain when her breath started coming in short, rapid gasps.

‘Melinda – Hey, hey – it’s alr –‘

Yo-yo almost ran to get Jemma when May pushed herself back and away from her, her small frame convulsing until she finally pitched forward and emptied the contents of her stomach down the drain. Yo-yo pulled the wet strands of hair away from her face and waited for her to stop heaving before she switched the water off as May sunk to the ground, still shaking but slowly regaining her composure.

‘You’re all wet’, May was looking at her with genuine concern, as if realizing where they were, or that she was even there, for the first time.

Elena snorted, dropping to the ground beside her and leaning back against the wall.

‘I needed a shower anyway – and I’d rather have to dodge your trozos than have Rodriquez drooling all over me’, Yo-yo couldn’t resist the urge to try and lighten the mood but gently slipped her hand into May’s, giving it an encouraging squeeze.

‘I don’t want Coulson kicking my ass for trying to take your underwear off – you think you’ll be okay with the rest if I go get you some dry clothes?’

May nodded silently, but gave her hand a tight squeeze in return as she helped her too her feet.

‘Thank you – for not – for everything’.

‘Anytime Mami, just maybe give me a call before the try the whole pushing yourself until you pass out thing again, especially if you’re going to go wandering around in the Director’s robe.’

Yo-yo threw her a cheeky smile before heading back out through the laundry, making a mental note to grab some fresh sheets before she headed back, and ran the short distance back to May’s room to help air dry her clothes.

She shouldn’t really have been surprised to find Jemma standing in May’s doorway but the young scientist looked utterly distraught to find her reluctant patient gone from her bed.

‘Have you seen – ‘, Jemma stopped short as she took in her still damp hair and clothes.

‘Don’t worry – I get her – she just needed to freshen up’, Jemma looked far from adequately convinced by her sanitized version of events but didn’t push the issue, nervously chewing at her lip as she nodded.

‘I’d offer to take over but – I think she’s still – um, thank you, anyway – there’s fresh dressings on the desk, you should probably take those, and I, uh, I just needed to check – was she hot?’

‘Not necessarily my type, but still incredibly attractive, all things considered’, Jemma’s frown tightened at her ill-fated attempt at humour, so she didn’t toy with her any further, ‘Yeah, she was pretty warm, out of it too, definitely feverish – you need to give her something for that?’

‘Yeah, she should be okay for now, I can – I’ll come back later’, Jemma cast a hesitant glance back towards May’s room before giving her a tight smile, ‘I’ll just – I’ll let you get back to it – to May – thanks again’.

Jemma clutched the empty vial in her pocket until she was safely back in her room. Apparently starting down a road with a bad choice only offered further bad options. She was choosing the least bad option, she had to believe that, at least for now.

‘I’m sorry May, but I know you’re hurt, I’m just trying to help – please’.

Jemma pleaded with May, who was still struggling away from her to spite the sedative she had given her. The woman had allowed her to change her bandages and check the stitching on her thigh, and Jemma had to summon all her courage as she paused with her hand on her leg, advising her she needed to do a quick pelvic exam but she can sedate her a little more if she’d prefer.

Her response had be instantaneous, and violent. May’s injuries were the only thing that stopped her from completely crawling out of the bed as she wrenched herself away from her touch. Jemma tried to still her, to reason with her but all of her attempts were met with a raspy ‘No’. She didn’t want to be in this position any more than May did but she had a duty of care, and knowledge she couldn’t disregard, regardless of how much trouble it had caused her. She couldn’t explain the risks of sepsis after miscarriage to May from a child she never had the chance to know she was having – and she couldn’t tell her now, couldn’t add to the pain she was already in. Eventually she reached for the dial on the drip, the heart monitor alerting her to the woman’s rapidly rising heart rate.

‘I’m going to give you something to help you sleep – it will all be over when you wake -’

Jemma stilled as the sharp sting of the slap that whipped across her cheek reverberated in her head.

‘I said – NO’, the anger on May’s face faded into shock as she stared at Jemma before her lip trembled suddenly and she burst into tears.

Jemma was still frozen in shock when Coulson appeared in the doorway behind her.

‘Jemma?’ She sprung to her feet, already apologizing but Coulson’s eyes were fixed on May, who was quietly trying to contain her sobs. To her surprise, Coulson beckoned her outside the door, rather than rushing to May’s bedside.

‘We need to move her somewhere more private – more comfortable – Mack’s insisting on reopening the medical wing, you know she won’t stay here, she’ll end up hurting herself’, Coulson looked imploring at her, and she realized this wasn’t an order – she doubted his new arrangement with Mack as interim Director had cowed him this much, he was purely advocating for his partner – and apparently placing a trust in her that she didn’t feel deserving of to help make the best decision for her.

She almost wished Coulson had stayed, but he left her to ready May, going ahead to prepare her room. When Jemma returned to her bedside, May had already opened the valve on her drip and let herself slip into unconsciousness.